New Year's
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Sequel to First Christmas. "Weiss, just think about if for a sec, okay?" Yang had roughly patted her shoulder. "Which do you think she'd rather get: something you put your money into, or something you put your heart into?" [Happy RWBY Tuesday and Happy New Year!]


**So as you can all see, this fic is over 10,000 words, a new personal record (for one-shots)! This is officially my new, longest oneshot story! Despite a lack of creative title, I hope you enjoy it! **

**And thank you all sooooo very much for all of your loyal support this year! I cannot thank you enough, particularly all of my friends who helped me along the way!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

New Year's

Weiss grimaced as she fumbled with the red material in her hands, her ears hot with embarrassment as she messed up yet another stitch of the pillow.

"Pyrrha..." She mumbled. "I need help."

"Certainly!" The crimson-haired girl quickly darted to Weiss's side. "Oh, it's not a problem! You just spaced the last two out too much. Here, let me help."

For at least the fifth time that day, she took the string and needle from Weiss's hands and began fixing the clumsy craftsmanship. No matter how many times the heiress watched her, she could never copy Pyrrha's motions perfectly enough to yield similar results.

After her teammates had given her such wonderful gifts on Christmas, Weiss had only one week left to properly decide what she should do for them in return, as she had promised to give them all gifts that were just as wonderful for the New Year.

Of course, her first thought was to at least begin with making Ruby a new pillow, as the rest of them now had new ones thanks to their selfless leader's surprisingly high creativity skill.

The heiress had come to the only other student she felt comfortable with who was not on her own team, and asked her for assistance. Pyrrha had instantly agreed to help Weiss in her endeavor, making time where her teammates were away and urging Weiss to come over to team JNPR's room.

Pyrrha always had a soft spot for helping people, particularly Weiss, as it was obvious that the heiress was more than a little helpless on her own. Pyrrha had been worried about her for a while, considering how introverted and dishonest she was with herself. Until Weiss had been put onto team RWBY, Pyrrha had feared she would never open up to anyone, but thankfully her amiable teammates had proven more than capable of melting away the shell she had caged herself within.

Unfortunately for the heiress, sewing an entire pillow in several days was not a simple feat for a person who had never even seen a needle and thread in all her life; until now, she never truly appreciated the time and effort other people put into the things she had always taken for granted.

Presently, Weiss put her hands to her face and sighed. "I'm really no good..."

"Don't say that!" Pyrrha cried. Dismay caused her eyebrows to furrow as she caught a glimpse of her friend's hopeless expression. "This is your first time trying to do something like this, so of course it might take some time to get used to it."

"But I don't _have_ time!" Weiss wailed. "I only have two more days until I have to give this to her, and I'm not even halfway finished!"

"Weiss." Pyrrha lowered her voice as she placed the materials down onto the desk Weiss sat at. "They aren't going to get mad at you if you don't give them gifts. I'm sure they told you that much, right?"

"But it's a tradition they've known all their lives, and I wasn't able to reciprocate..."

"It's okay." Pyrrha patted Weiss's shoulder. "I'm sure they'd only be upset if they were to see how much you're stressing yourself out over this..." The heiress's hands were covered in cuts she had inflicted upon herself with the needle, and her eyes were tired and dull; they were the eyes of one who had long since given up on herself.

"I just..." Weiss bit her lip, trying to hold back her frustration. "I want to do this for them. It's the _least_ I can do."

"I understand." Pyrrha said softly. "But don't worry yourself with it so much, alright? You'll get it done. I know you will."

When Pyrrha patted her shoulder one more time, Weiss took the silent cue to leave and slowly stood. Gathering the materials, she placed them into a bag which she used to transfer her craft back and forth between the rooms in secrecy; she had tried to work in her own room, but the presence of her teammates always kept her on edge.

"Thank you, Pyrrha." Weiss gave a small bow, as she always did before leaving.

"Just come to me if you need anything." The other girl offered kindly.

Weiss gave a weak smile in response. "Sure."

As she stepped out into the hallway, Pyrrha closed the door behind her, reminding Weiss that this was probably the last time before her deadline when her companion would be able to help her with her task. _I'm on my own from here on out._

Weiss inhaled deeply, trying to regain her composure. She could just begin to hear the sounds of loud footsteps and Nora's unforgettable voice at the end of the hall, so Weiss quickly fumbled for her key and pushed into her own room; if the other members of team JNPR found she had been taking sewing lessons from Pyrrha, Weiss would never hear the end of it.

She sighed as she walked into her empty room; unlike Ruby, Blake, and Yang who had snuck off on their own time to complete everyone else's presents, Weiss had flat-out told them all that she would be focusing on nothing more until the New Year's eve. She even rushed through her assignments and homework simply so she could scurry off to find Pyrrha and work on Ruby's pillow.

Weiss sat down on her bed, the memories of the day after Christmas replaying in her mind:

_"Tell me what you want, Ruby!"_ Weiss had demanded. _"Whatever it is, I'll buy it for you! I'll get you anything you could possibly want!"_

She had been determined to impress her girlfriend, wanting to be sure the thing she got for Ruby would be something her leader wanted.

But Ruby had simply blinked uncertainly. _"Well..._" She had mumbled. _"There's not much I really want. You don't have to buy me anything." _

Weiss had given her a look as if Ruby was speaking another language. Of course there must have been _something_ she wanted? And Weiss was more than willing to buy it for her, no matter the cost.

But not a moment later, Yang had pulled Weiss aside, shooing Ruby to the other side of the room so that she may speak to the heiress in private. _"You should know better than to try and buy her things_." The blonde had said.

_"Surely there must be something!"_ Weiss had refuted, frustrated. _"I don't know what else to do for her!" _

_"Weiss, just think about if for a sec, okay?"_ Yang had roughly patted her shoulder. _"Which do you think she'd rather get: something you put your money into, or something you put your heart into?"_

Presently, Weiss sighed as she recalled Yang's words yet again. They had been what triggered Weiss's idea of making the pillow, but she had quickly discovered she had no talents for such activities. But, pressed for time and desperate for ideas, the heiress had thought of no better solutions, and committed to finishing it, no matter how many setbacks she ran into.

Yet, she had not the slightest idea of what else she could do for her teammates' gifts.

In making theirs, Blake had lost sleep, Yang had skipped meals, and Ruby had risked Weiss's trust in her; what could the heiress possibly do that was anywhere near equivalent to their sacrifices?

Weiss frowned as she glared down at the clumsily-constructed pillow in her lap. It was painful to look at the uneven stitches and lopsided hems, so she stuffed it back into the bag and hid it underneath her bed. She ran her fingers over her new comforter, the white snowflake-patterned blanket Ruby had so painstakingly put together for her. "You dunce," Weiss muttered. "How am I ever supposed to compete with something like this?"

Weiss still felt guilty about all of her complaining about constantly being cold, which she knew was the underlying reason Ruby had put so much time and effort into making the blanket in the first place. The heiress made sure to use it every evening since, always wrapping herself up in it whenever she studied and being sure to drape half of it over Ruby when she slipped into bed beside her.

But as she stared at the blanket now, eyes tracing aimlessly over the blue splatters at the ends of the snowflakes, an idea sparked in Weiss's mind. _Can it be done?_ She wondered to herself, her mind working quickly to try and devise a way to go through with her newest plan. _I can do it. I just need some more materials..._

But before Weiss could consider the thought any further, she heard the voices of her teammates as the door to the room clicked. Making sure the bag containing Ruby's sorry excuse for a present was well out of sight, Weiss straightened herself up as the other three girls entered.

"I am soooo ready for three whole days off from classes!" Yang announced happily as she flopped down onto Blake's bed. "And it's right after the weekend, too! So it's like we have five days off!"

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed. "We've gotta think of something to do for New Years!" She instantly turned to make eye contact with her girlfriend. "Weiss, what do you think about going to dinner somewhere?"

"That sounds lovely." Weiss offered. "However, I don't want to make any promises. If I'm not finished with your gifts by then, I'll have to say no."

"Weeiiiisss..." Ruby groaned. "I keep telling you it's okay if you-"

"And _I _keep telling _you_ it's _not_ okay." Weiss snapped. "There's no way I could ever live with myself if I didn't repay you all for what you've given me."

"Yeah, but-"

"Ruby." This time, Blake spared the heiress the trouble of lecturing their leader as she put a hand on Ruby's shoulder to stop her from saying any more. "Just let her do this." Blake said. "If you were in her position right now, you'd feel the same way she does." She flashed an understanding look to Weiss, who nodded thankfully in return.

"I guess you're right..." Ruby sighed; if anyone knew the extent of Weiss's stubbornness, it was her.

"Well," Yang pushed herself up from the bed. "After a long day of doing nothing in particular, I'm ready to hit the hay."

"_You're_ going to bed?" Blake nearly choked. "At 8PM?"

"Well, we've still got three days of vacation left to enjoy!" Yang defended. "And that means we've gotta get up early! But don't worry about setting an alarm or anything. I'll take care of waking you guys up."

"If you jump on us _one more time,_ I will personally see you through that window." Weiss growled.

"You keep saying that but never do~" Yang stuck her tongue out.

Weiss grumbled something else under her breath but said nothing more.

As Yang and Blake prepared for bed, Weiss stood and brushed the curtains aside, seeking a view of the outside world. It was snowing again, the fresher snowflakes adding onto the already-existent layers that had piled up over the past several days. The heiress shivered slightly from the sight alone, but made sure her voice was clear when she spoke.

"Ruby?" She called for her girlfriend.

"What's up?" She was there within seconds, typical considering her superb speed and tendency to always be listening for Weiss's voice, just for the occasional unlikely case when she would be called for.

"Let's go outside."

"...Huh?"

"You heard me."

"W-What?" Ruby blinked, dumbfounded. "B-But it's snowing out! It's freezing, and you don't like the cold, remember?"

"Of course I _remember_, you dunce!" Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes. "But I'm saying I want to go outside with you anyway! So stop asking questions and get your coat on!" Spinning on her heel, Weiss stomped over to her closet to dig out her own trench coat.

"Ooh..." Yang hummed from her perch on her bed. "The princess doesn't mind going out into the freezing cold as long as Ruby's with her?"

"Uh, Ruby?" Blake addressed her leader who was still standing where Weiss had left her at the window. "You'd better hurry up or she's going to leave without you."

"Huh? Oh! Right!" The brunette dashed to the closet to fish out her own coat, slipping into it as quickly as possible, as the heiress was already halfway out the door. "Ahh, W-Weiss, wait! I need to get my boots on!" Ruby fumbled about as she tried to slip into her boots and hobble after her girlfriend at the same time, which resulted in her falling flat on her face as she tried to hop out the door.

"Honestly." Weiss turned back to hoist her up by the arm. "I can't take you anywhere..."

"But as long as I'm with you, I don't care where we are!" Ruby beamed as she got to her feet.

"...You dolt. That made no sense whatsoever." Weiss scoffed. She slid her hand down Ruby's arm to find her palm, squeezing her fingers gently. Ruby chuckled as she followed Weiss through the quiet hallways to the exit of the building.

She noticed Weiss brace herself before they stepped out into the freezing night air. Snow and wind blasted their faces, buffeting their hair and forcing them to close their eyes for a few seconds as their grips on one another's hands tightened. Weiss ducked her chin into the collar of her coat, feeling her entire body shudder.

But not a second later, a soft fabric surrounded her neck as a warm body pressed to her side; she reopened her eyes to find Ruby smiling, having wrapped one end of her scarf around Weiss. The heiress smiled ever so slightly as she took a deep breath, letting it out into an impressive puff of white that screened the oncoming snowflakes.

Then, she stepped out onto the snowy pathway, gradually leading Ruby away from the building and into the open courtyard. The wind died down a little as they walked, making for a still night, save for the dancing spirals of snow. The lights from the distant dorm rooms as well as the glowing yellow lamp posts illuminated the snow, reflecting brightly off of its crystals.

The two girls quickly grew accustomed to the chilled air, focusing more on the warmth they shared between them.

Weiss came to a stop in the middle of the courtyard and looked upward, and Ruby followed her gaze to the night sky above. The dark, velvet sky opened up into a clear, cloudless expanse of stars and snowflakes, tinted slightly purple; it looked endless, enchantingly boundless, and Ruby felt she could get lost in that view forever.

For just a minute, she allowed her gaze to drift to Weiss's profile; her angelic face was angled perfectly upward, her white skin shining in the natural light, her mist-blue eyes shimmering with wonder as her breath formed a diaphanous veil around her.

Ruby did not know how long she lost herself in that beautiful sight, but when Weiss caught her, her cheeks turned even redder than they had from the cold. Ruby heard her mumble, "Dunce..." as she hid her chin behind the scarf they were sharing.

"So..." Ruby giggled. "Why did you bring me out here?"

"Y-You..." Weiss puffed out one cheek before sighing heavily. "You think I need an excuse to want to be alone with you?"

"Oh... I see." Ruby felt another smile coming on, a warmth bubbling and spreading throughout her chest when she realized what Weiss had done. _Despite what people think, the cold makes her really uncomfortable. But she'd take me out here at this time of night just to show me this beautiful sight_...

Feeling a little smug about how lucky she was to have such a selfless partner, Ruby huddled up closer beside her. Weiss gave a slight shiver as she welcomed the heat, her voice hesitant.

"Ruby-"

"Don't say another word." Ruby knew exactly what was coming. "I know you're sorry for not getting me a present. We've been over this forty six times in the past five days and my answer will still be the same; it's _okay_. Even if it's not okay for you, it's okay for me. Okay?"

"...Sorry..." Weiss buried her mouth further into the scarf.

"And stop apologizing." Ruby headbutted her lightly before changing the subject. "Thank you for taking me out here, Weiss. I never would have known how lovely the view was otherwise." She was not necessarily talking about they sky, either. "Now let's get back inside before we catch cold. I'll make you some coffee."

Weiss nodded once as she followed Ruby back inside, the snow drifting silently after them.

* * *

When Weiss awoke the next morning, a sense of urgency and determination pumped throughout her body, knocking away the usual grogginess. She slipped out of bed away from Ruby and stretched briefly, unable to shake the feeling to want to do something.

She started with preparing breakfast, for all of them, setting out each bowl and pouring the respective cereal into each one, earning surprised looks and comments from her teammates when they arose. Weiss merely muttered and sat herself down to eat, inhaling her food quickly before she hurried off to shower; she knew she would work better if she did not smell like dead forest foliage.

When she emerged, she quite literally shooed the other three out the door, demanding that they spend the day in town, see a movie, do anything that would displace their presence on campus. They knew precisely what she would be doing in the meantime, and although Ruby did not like to leave Weiss alone, she knew the heiress needed to finish their gifts at any cost, for sanity's sake if nothing else.

It took her teammates about thirty more minutes until they departed, Weiss making sure to give Ruby a goodbye kiss on the cheek and warn her to be careful.

Once they were out the door, Weiss began her preparations.

Pyrrha had cautioned her that she would not be around to help Weiss today, so the heiress knew she was on her own. She grabbed the bag from underneath her bed and sat back against her own pillow as she began threading, making sure to go back and undo any sloppy sections she had so carelessly brushed over before.

But it was not so long as five minutes before the silence began to annoy her, louder than any sound. She succumbed to the fact that she was no longer the girl she used to be, the one who needed absolute silence for everything and anything she did, often times retreating to the library to seek solace; now, she resorted to flicking on Ruby's radio, turning it on low as the music began to play.

At first, Weiss had been adamant about having the distracting songs playing while she did her homework, but Ruby argued that she could not study in complete silence; basically, Weiss was faced with the choice of having the music play in the background, or having Ruby speak her studies aloud.

Eventually, it had gotten to the point where the heiress had joined Ruby in her ironic inability to do quiet work in silence.

Now, as she worked her way around the corners of the pillow, she remembered everything Pyrrha had taught her. She made sure to pull the needle all the way through and kept the two pieces of material together neatly.

Although the corners gave her a bit of trouble, she discovered that for the most part, the motions came smoother when she got used to them. Even though the final product was to be covered by a pillow case, she simply would not be able to sleep soundly at night in knowing the surface Ruby slept upon was imperfect.

She stopped herself from sewing together the last side, making sure to turn the pillow inside out before she stuffed it with the down she had purchased a few days prior. She then sewed up the remaining side, feeling accomplished when she finally cut off the last string from her craft.

She held it back to look it over from afar, pressing her hand against it to test its sturdiness, and it did seem much more elevated than Ruby's old, deflated pillow. She was at war with the clumsily-made corners, but settled for letting it go, as she was pressed for time after all.

Weiss then put together the dark red fabrics of the pillow case, making sure to keep one side open, which she then slipped the pillow into. It fit perfectly the first time, and Weiss felt she was spared some time, considering she did not have to go back to adjust anything.

The fruits of her labor produced an average-sized pillow, soft yet sturdy. When she looked it over now, she was a little less than thrilled with the results, but recalled Yang's words about Ruby rather receiving a present made possible by Weiss's own hand than by her father's wallet.

Thinking this way, the heiress believed she would be able to live with herself, slipped the finished pillow back into the bag, and put it back underneath her bed.

Now that the most time-consuming present had been completed, she set out to tackle what would take the most effort.

She changed into a warmer set of clothes and slid her blue trench coat on over that, tightly securing her boots around her calves. She turned off the radio before she exited the room, getting permission from the school staff to stop by her storage locker and open it. She retrieved several vials of Dust from her briefcase, all having different components to their concoctions.

Then, the heiress gathered herself as she headed outside, into the slowly falling snowflakes. Her boots crunched through the layer of snow already blanketing the ground, but rather than following her previous night's footsteps into the courtyard, she made for the forest.

The first reason she needed to be within the trees was because she required the distant chirping of the snow birds to ward off any distracting silence.

Secondly, was because she did not want any intrusive eyes straying toward her, as the last thing she felt she could deal with today were inquisitive minds that were too nosy for their own good.

Lastly, she would be using Dust, therefore she displaced herself for safety precautions; although the chances of her mixing the bottles wrong and causing some form of explosion were highly unlikely, she could not deny the fact that the risk still existed.

Weiss rechecked her pockets to make certain she had procured all of the necessary vials of Dust before proceeding.

Focusing on a falling snowflake, she utilized her spells to capture it in a veil of ice as it descended upon her, resting in her palm. Weiss pulled forth a bottle of black Dust and sprinkled a single drop onto the captured snowflake. The block of ice glowed black for a few seconds before settling back to its natural crystal color.

Then, Weiss tightened up the muscles in her arm and hurled the snowflake against the nearest tree, hard enough to scrap some of the bark off. She hurried over to dig out the snowflake she had frozen, which had been completely undamaged.

The Dust she had put on it was for durability, and she remembered testing it out in the very same manner when she was younger.

Her father had told her to memorize what each color of Dust signified in regards to its enhancement abilities, and while similar colors such as indigo and violet and blues often used to set her back, Weiss always remembered black. It was the combination of every color, just as the potion was a combination of every element, fused together to make the end result the ultimate.

Weiss had frozen a snowflake in the past just as she had now, and even after the snow had melted months afterward, she discovered the same snowflake still within its case of ice, unaffected by the beating rays of the sun.

On a whim, she had picked it up and placed it on her dresser, and to this day she knew it was still there somewhere.

Now that she had confirmed her convictions about the task at hand, Weiss left the little block of ice in the snow; she did not intend to steal nature's creations for her teammates' gifts.

Instead, Weiss closed her eyes and concentrated, determined to create the shape of her own pattern and of her own effort. Summoning her ice was simple enough; shearing it down to such a precise, tiny size was anything but.

She used her concentration like an ice pick to carve out the arms of the snowflake, forming the picture in her mind's eye and striving to make the project before her identical to that. It was painstakingly meticulous work that required a focused mind as well as physical perseverance, as it was not simply over in a matter of seconds.

The first snowflake took Weiss as long as five full minutes to complete, and she let out a hard breath of air when it was finally over.

She let the flake fall into her bare palm, pulling out one of the other vials she had brought along, which was for the ice element; this simply ensured it would maintain its shape, an extra coating for sturdiness.

The last vial she had with her contained a pale orange color of Dust, which she also added onto the snowflake before the black. The orange Dust held the ability to prevent ice elements from feeling cold to the touch while simultaneously allowing it to keep all of its other components such as hardness.

Likewise, there was an aqua shade of Dust that did the same for fire elements, draining the heat and replacing it with a normal temperature. These two types of Dust were known as Nulling types, and unlike the durability Dust, were fairly common.

Weiss winced a little as she dripped the black Dust onto the one-inch snowflake she herself had made; if her father knew she was using such a rare concoction for such a purpose, he would surely disown her. _Perhaps that would be for the better, though. _She thought. _If he couldn't understand how important this is to me..._

Once the snowflake had been finished, Weiss pulled one of three black strings from her opposite pocket. She tied the two ends of the string together and placed the tip of one of the snowflake's arms onto the knot.

Then, she dripped one more sprinkle of black onto where the two met, making for a bracelet that would never come apart even when faced with punching through the toughest of mountainsides or the most searing flames of hell; surely it would look good on Yang.

Satisfied with the end results, Weiss slipped the finished product into her pocket before starting the process anew, doing the very same for Blake's bracelet.

She did her best to make it identical to Yang's, and it took her another ten minutes until it was finished.

Weiss slipped the second bracelet into her pocket and stopped for a moment to catch her breath. The concentration that went into carving each piece with her abilities was unnerving, for if she broke her train of thought or got distracted for even a second, she would lose the spell.

Maintaining her focus for extended periods of time was not a field of work Weiss was unfamiliar with, however the biting cold air was making it difficult to breathe. She was trembling uncontrollably, and briefly she considered waiting until later to create Ruby's final piece.

_No. _She scolded herself. _There's no reason not to finish it now. Who knows what setbacks might arise later?_

Shaking her head to clear it, Weiss inhaled a deep breath, welcoming the cold into her lungs, forcing it to wake her up. Honing her skills, she cast what she hoped to be the last spell, holding her arms out before her, closing her eyes as she pictured the image.

The process of making Ruby's snowflake took nearly twice as long as the other two combined. The mental image she carved in her mind often faded out for an instant, and the heiress could feel her energy draining. But she did not break focus nor open her eyes, holding onto the sliver of self-control that kept her perseverance in range.

When she had finished at last, she maintained the spell even as she opened her eyes, checking over the miniature sculpture and making absolutely certain it was perfect before she let the tension dissipate.

Weiss swayed slightly, securely catching the snowflake in her hands as she fell sideways into the snow, her vision temporarily flickering to black. She had grown accustomed to the cold by now, but that did not make the seeping wetness all down her side any more comfortable.

She got to her feet quickly as she retrieved the Dust she required, applying both bottles to the ice charm, putting two drops of the durability elixir onto it for good measure; any more than three and the ice would start to stain black.

At last, she finished Ruby's snowflake which Weiss connected to the longest string, intending for it to be a necklace. She reached into her pockets to retrieve the other two works, smirking a little smugly as she admired her work.

Then, she lifted Ruby's necklace up to her face and kissed the little snowflake once. The ice was not cold to her lips, and she knew that was due to the Dust she had used, rather than the fact that her lips had already lost all sense of touch and temperature.

Carefully slipping the three pieces back into her pocket, Weiss made back for the school at a bedraggled pace, her hair having formed crystals long ago, her hands and face deathly pale and drained of color.

Once inside the school building, she shook herself once to dislodge any of the excess snow that clung to her before returning to her storage locker to put away the Dust.

Finally, she returned to her room, which was still quiet and vacant. She hid the jewelry with Ruby's finished pillow underneath her bed.

It was nearly 4PM by now, and her teammates were due to return in about an hour, therefore Weiss utilized that time to take a warm shower and shiver herself out of her unbecoming appearance. Changing into her usual, one-piece sleepwear that Blake had fixed for her, she dried her cold, damp hair as best she could manage before flicking on Ruby's radio and turning it down.

She then retreated to her soft bed, wrapping herself in the thick blanket her girlfriend had made for her. Her gaze came to rest upon Yang's picture frame that Weiss had placed on her beside table, a small smile gracing her lips as her eyes traced fondly over the picture.

Jaws parting in an enervated yawn, Weiss decided she would allow herself to nap for as long as her teammates' absence allowed, and she closed her eyes.

* * *

The rest of team RWBY returned about an hour later, Ruby letting out an exaggerated "brrr!" as she came through the door. "It is _chilly_ out there!" She exclaimed. "Weiss, did-oop!" Ruby smacked a hand to her mouth as she caught sight of her partner sleeping.

"Man," Yang murmured. "She must have been working really hard if she's already passed out at this time of evening."

"Do you think she finished whatever she was doing?" Ruby wondered.

Blake answered as she began removing her boots. "I doubt she would have let herself sit down for a second until she had."

"You're right." Ruby also removed her boots and jacket, trying to do so as quietly as possible as not to wake her girlfriend. She briefly noted the sounds of her radio playing in the background and smiled a little.

"Well, she's going to need the sleep for tomorrow." Yang reminded them. "Since it's New Year's Eve, we've gotta stay up until sunrise, remember?"

"That's right!" Ruby gave a little excited bounce.

"Why is that?" Blake asked her partner.

"It's just a tradition." The blonde shrugged. "They say if you stay up all night to see the first sunrise of the year, you get to make a wish! Plus, it's just really fun to try and stay awake."

"Yang usually doesn't make it." Ruby teased.

"Which is why it's Blakey's job this year to keep me on my toes!" She declared.

"...I'll do my best."

It was then Ruby made her way over to Weiss, who had tightly curled herself up in her blankets, and she noticed the heiress's damp hair.

"Weiss!" Ruby hissed under her breath. "You can't go to bed with wet hair! You'll get sick! Ugh, what am I gonna do with you?" She bolted to the bathroom to change into her own pajamas, rushing back out to Weiss's side to find her quivering.

"It looks like I'm going to bed now, guys." Ruby smiled hopelessly down at her girlfriend as she slowly climbed into Weiss's bed beside her.

"We might stay up a bit," Yang replied. "But if we're gonna do the whole 48 hours thing, I guess it would be a good idea to get some sleep early tonight." The blonde grabbed her pillow from her bed before flopping down onto Blake's. "Ugh, I'm still so full from dinner." She sighed.

As Blake chided Ruby's sister for her sloppy habits, the brunette herself slipped her arms around Weiss and carefully turned her around to face her. When she pulled her shaking girlfriend in to her, Ruby heard the unmistakable sound of a sorely empty stomach.

"Weiss..." She moaned, her tone dismayed. "You didn't eat anything?" She pulled the heiress in, doing her best to move her cold, alabaster hair away from her exposed neck and pull the blanket up in its place.

"She didn't have supper?" Blake turned worriedly back to face Ruby.

"It doesn't seem like it..."

"Ruby," Yang sat herself up, her joking tone faded. "You've got to make sure she understands she can't just neglect herself whenever she feels like it now that she's got us, now that she's got _you_. It's your job as her girlfriend to remind her of how much she means to us."

"Right." Ruby kissed Weiss's forehead as she pulled her head to her chest. "I'll be sure to do that." She whispered.

As Blake and Yang settled themselves, Ruby continued to caress Weiss's shivering shoulders until the heiress was finally still. Even though she had taken a shower, Ruby could still smell the sharp tang of snow coming off of her girlfriend, which begged the question of where she had been all day long.

_I guess I'll find out tomorrow..._ She thought.

Ruby moved down to kiss Weiss's cheek before she pulled her back in, refusing to allow another shiver to rack her partner's body for the remainder of the night.

Ruby whispered her goodnights to her teammates before closing her eyes, letting herself be absorbed in Weiss's presence until she fell asleep.

* * *

Weiss distinctly recalled going to sleep cold the previous evening, which was a rare occasion for her, considering Ruby would always crawl in beside her before she fell asleep.

Therefore, Weiss awoke slightly surprised when she found herself warm and snug in her girlfriend's embrace that morning, feeling flattered that Ruby would still cuddle her even after she had fallen asleep.

The first thing Weiss noticed that morning was Ruby's protective embrace around her.

The second was a painfully hollow stomach. Only now did she realize she had been so tired the previous evening that she had gone to bed without eating, an action she was sure Ruby would take note of and scold her about later.

Realizing she was the first one to wake, Weiss enjoyed Ruby's warmth a while longer, snuggling up to her cozily and letting her eyelids fall shut once more.

But only a few minutes later, her stomach betrayed her with another dreadfully loud noise, extending far enough to rouse even Blake and Yang.

"Weiss?" Ruby blinked her silver eyes open slowly. "You're awake?"

"Yes. Good morning..." Weiss buried her face guiltily into her pillow.

"You need to eat-"

"I know..." The heiress shrunk even further down.

Ruby sighed. "As long as you understand..."

Ruby made a move to push herself up, but just before Weiss could feel her warm arms leaving her, an unsuspecting savior emerged.

"Don't you two worry." Yang said. "We'll take care of breakfast. Just stay there a few more minutes."

"O...kay?" Ruby obediently returned to her prior position, and Weiss sent silent thanks to the blonde sister.

The two in bed watched as Blake and Yang headed for the stove in the room's small kitchen area. They hardly used it, just because whatever they could make there would consume too much time they did not have before classes every morning. But now it was the perfect time to utilize it.

"What are you guys making?" Ruby wondered.

"Pancakes!" Yang announced.

"Don't you remember when we stopped to get the ingredients yesterday?" Blake smiled.

"Ah, I get it." Ruby nodded. "I'm so excited! It's been _forever_ since I've had pancakes!"

"As long as Yang doesn't burn them..." Blake muttered.

"Hey, I heard that! I don't burn _everything_ I cook, you know!"

They squabbled a little as they dug out the ingredients they would need, Blake scolding Yang when she tried to light the stove with her own body heat rather than the knob.

Ruby watched them amusedly for a minute before turning over back to Weiss, who was still gazing into the kitchen a little bewilderedly.

"_Please_ don't tell me you've never had pancakes before." Ruby pleaded.

"I've never seen them _made_ before." The heiress admitted.

"But you _have_ had them, right?"

"...Maybe twice."

Ruby stifled an appalled sound.

"I... guess that's better than nothing..." She sighed before changing the subject. "Are you okay, Weiss? You hardly ate anything yesterday and you went to bed without drying your hair thoroughly. You don't feel sick or anything, do you?"

"A little cold... but nothing more."

"Okay, that's good." Ruby took the hint and hugged the heiress close to her chest.

"So what did you all do yesterday?" Weiss wondered.

"Oh, us? We wandered around town for a bit and then went to a movie. It was pretty good, but it was kinda lonely not having someone sitting next to me..." Weiss gave an apologetic grunt. "But after that, we just went out to buy some food to bring back here, and then the three of us went out to dinner."

"That sounds nice." Weiss commented.

"It would have been a lot nicer if you were there and I didn't have to worry about you the entire time." Ruby grumbled. "What were you doing out in the snow? You still smelled like winter when I came in last night."

"...You'll find out..."

Ruby simply sighed in response.

She allowed herself to doze off a bit as the scent of pancakes gradually started to fill the room, chuckling to herself whenever Yang made an effort to flip the batter with her fingers or see how many she could fit into the pan at once.

After an exhausting ritual of scolding her partner while simultaneously trying to make the food edible, Blake called out at last. "Come and get it!"

Ruby and Weiss reluctantly let go of each other before stretching briefly. Ruby rolled off the bed onto her feet, Weiss refusing to remove herself from the white blanket as she made her way over to the table.

Now was the time of morning when Weiss's crankier side began to emerge, and she scrunched her nose when she saw Yang's plate.

"Why are yours so deformed?"

"Well, ya see," the blonde began proudly. "I didn't use the pan. I just heated 'em up in my hands and flipped 'em like that!"

"You're deranged."

"Would anyone like cinnamon?" Blake offered.

"Oh! Me me me!" Yang waved her hand.

"I'll take the syrup!" Ruby called.

As the room started to get a little rowdy, Weiss remembered a time when she would have grabbed her food and stomped off to eat alone. But now, she only went so far as rolling her eyes a little and even joined in on the rambunctious atmosphere from time to time.

At one point, Weiss smacked her girlfriend's knife from her hand.

"R-Ruby Rose!" Weiss shrieked. "Don't carve them into obscene shapes!"

"What? It's a mouse!" Ruby complained.

"Is it, now?" Blake muttered.

"What did you _think_ it was, princess?" Yang teased.

The four of them continued their antics, their voices a comedic mixture of tones on all octaves.

For the remainder of the day, the girls lounged around their room, Weiss making sure to hound them all to finish their homework assignments before it was too late.

Once she was satisfied that even Yang had made an attempt at her work, she allowed herself to be drawn into their plans for watching movies.

"Movie marathon." Yang declared, patting the television. "Until sunrise. Rules are you're allowed to nap any time before 10PM, but if you lose consciousness after that, your wish won't come true."

"And just who are you to decide if our wishes come true or not?" Weiss demanded.

"Hey princess, I don't make the rules." She shrugged.

"But you just did..." Blake muttered.

"Okay, so first thing's first!" Yang cut her girlfriend off. "We can't all see the TV from our beds so we'll have to move all the pillows and blankets down to the floor!"

Ruby, Blake, and Yang all stripped the comforters from their beds while Weiss simply remained where she was, wrapped in her white, snowflake-patterned blanket. Only when she saw them retrieving their pillows did Weiss move toward her bed; if she allowed the rest of them to enjoy their new pillows while Ruby used a deflated marshmallow, she would never forgive herself.

"Ruby, wait."

Weiss's voice caused Ruby to freeze what she was doing and drop down from her bunk. "Yeah? What's up?"

Weiss knelt onto the floor as she reached beneath her bed, making sure to leave the charms there as she pulled out the bag containing Ruby's pillow. Her teammates gathered around with curious eyes.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to wrap it, but..." Weiss drew the red pillow from the bag and offered it to her partner. "M...Merry Christmas, Ruby." She bowed forward slightly as she presented it to her girlfriend.

Ruby's shock caused her to step back a pace, but she quickly moved forward again when she realized Weiss might misinterpret her reaction.

"Oh, wow!" She gasped. "Weiss, this is _beautiful_!" Ruby carefully accepted the pillow, as though it might be breakable. "Thank you so much!"

"How did you manage that?" Blake was dumbfounded as well. "Didn't you tell me you've never sewn before?"

"I had Pyrrha help me." Weiss admitted. "B-But she only showed me! I made the entire thing myself."

"You learned how to do _that_ in less than a week?" Yang was incredulous. "Kudos to you, princess!"

"Do..." Her mist-blue eyes flickered nervously up to Ruby's face. "Do you... like it?"

"_Like_ it? _I love it!_" Ruby cried, throwing her arms around her girlfriend and kissing her full on the lips. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She sang, jumping up and down.

Weiss was still dazed from the kiss and stumbled backward a little bit, only stopping when Yang patted her back roughly.

"Y'see?" She mumbled. "What'd I tell ya? She'll love anything as long as it comes from you."

Weiss smiled a little as she watched her leader jump up and down, squealing as she buried her face into her new pillow.

"Y...You're such a child." Weiss sighed, putting a finger to her lips for quiet. "It's not that big of a deal..."

"Thank you, Weiss!" Ruby beamed, not listening. She kissed Weiss again, and this time the heiress managed to return it briefly.

Once things had calmed down a bit, Yang got the movies ready as Blake set out the blankets onto the floor for them to sit on. The four girls leaned back against Weiss's and Blake's beds in their respective pairs, using their new pillows for comfort.

"It's gonna be a looong night." Yang warned as she started the first of what was to be many movies.

Her words certainly sounded foreboding, but surprisingly enough, Weiss found that the first chunk of the evening went by fairly quickly.

Perhaps it was because of the movies, or perhaps it was because of Ruby's suggestion to build a blanket fort, which took up some time.

Or perhaps it was Yang's shout of "Pillow fight!" in which they all used their old pillows to tackle one another.

"Come on!" Yang taunted from where she hid behind Blake. "You wouldn't hit poor Blakey now, would you, Weiss?"

"I would if she was shielding the _imbecile_ who hit me so hard my _nose bled_!" The heiress hurled a pillow at her girlfriend's sister, still pressing a tissue to her nose.

"Yang, don't use her as a shield, you coward!" Ruby chided as Weiss's throw hit an innocent Blake in the face.

"Yeah." Blake shook her frazzled hair out of her face and flattened her ears as she rounded on her partner. "You've just earned yourself a coup d'etat." With that threat, she jumped on Yang, who shouted feebly in protest.

Eventually, the three of them weakened Yang enough for her to cry out, "Fine! I surrender!" before they all let her go.

"That's what you get when you mistreat your girlfriend." Ruby stuck her tongue out at her sister as she tended to Weiss's bloody nose.

"Aw, she knows I love her, dontcha Blakey?"

"I'm beginning to question that..." The Faunus teased.

"Then I'll just have to prove it to you!" Yang crushed Blake to her chest in a hug that left her breathless, her ears standing tall.

"Okay, okay! I believe you!" Blake caved quickly, and Yang slackened her grip accordingly. "Of course I believe you, you idiot." She leaned forward to kiss her girlfriend, stifling whatever cheesy line Yang was about to utter.

By then it was nearly midnight, and Yang had to break the kiss a little sooner than either of them would have liked.

"Sorry, but we've gotta save it!" She declared.

"Save what?"

"We've gotta have the first kiss of the New Year!"

"...You're _really_ going to make me wait another five minutes to kiss you?"

"Uhh-mph!"

Blake could care less about her girlfriend's traditions at the moment and kissed her again anyway.

A few feet away from them, Weiss stole a glance at Ruby.

"Is..." She cleared her throat meaningfully. "Is that something you partake in as well?" She wondered, trying to sound casual.

"Well..." Ruby thought for a minute. "I've always heard other people talk about getting the first kiss of the New Year, but I never exactly... had anyone else to try it out with..."

Silver flicked up to lock with mist-blue.

The heiress cleared her throat as a pink blush came to her cheeks. "What... What time is it now?" She wondered nonchalantly.

"11:58."

"I doubt we can hold our breaths for two minutes..."

"Unfortunately..."

The two waited another minute, watching the clock closely. Their teammates pulled apart to catch their breaths, preparing to go in for one final kiss.

When the final thirty seconds had wound down, Weiss leaned closer to Ruby, smiling slightly.

"You know what's even better than having the first kiss of the New Year?"

"Having it with you?" Ruby guessed.

"Well, that too." Weiss smirked. "But how about having the last kiss of this year, _and_ the first kiss of next?"

With that, the final seconds began to tick away as Weiss leaned in and kissed Ruby. Ruby held herself still, returning the kiss warmly as Yang quickly pulled Blake's lips back to hers as well.

The official passing of the New Year was announced by a boisterous cry of "Happy New Year!" sounding from across the hall from team JNPR's room.

But even once it was clear midnight had passed, Ruby and Weiss refused to pull away until they were completely out of breath.

Likewise, Yang left Blake panting when she finally let her go, all faces pink.

Weiss smiled as she hugged her partner. "Merry New Year, Ruby."

"Mer- ppft!" Ruby instantly killed the mood as she burst into laughter.

"W-What?!" The heiress cried indigently.

"Weiss, 'Merry' is only for Christmas!" Ruby informed her. "You say '_Happy_ New Year', silly!"

"W-Well, how was I to know-?"

"They just shouted it across the hall!" Yang was cackling as well.

"Still," Blake chuckled. "That was pretty adorable."

"Ugh!"

Weiss withdrew from Ruby and spun around, throwing her blanket over her head in an attempt to hide her furious blush.

"Weiss!" Ruby was still laughing. "Weiss wait, I'm sorry! Don't be mad!" Ruby made her best effort to stifle her giggles as she apologized, hugging the bundled heiress tightly. She pulled the covers down to her shoulders and lightly brushed the hair from her face. Weiss was still blushing, but allowed Ruby to kiss her again anyway.

A minute later, an announcement was made across the campus by Professor Ozpin, wishing the students a happy New  
Year and reminding them to complete all of their assignments before the vacation time ended.

"See?" Weiss held her chin high. "Aren't you all relieved you've finished already?"

"Yeah, yeah." Yang twirled her wrist jokingly. "Homework was hard enough, but now the _real_ challenge begins." She turned to her girlfriend. "Think you can make it, Blakey?"

"It's you I'm concerned about." She replied.

"Oh-ho, them's fightin' words!"

Ruby shared her own thoughts on the matter of staying up until sunrise. "I think it gets most difficult around 4AM, personally. I usually take shower then to keep myself awake."

"That's a clever idea." Weiss acknowledged, making Ruby squirm from the compliment.

At last, they all settled back into their spots, shifting about to get comfortable as the movies continued to play.

Even with the lights on, they discovered staying up was no simple feat.

At around 3AM, Blake needed to start shaking Yang every few minutes to keep her from fading, and Weiss yawned more times than she could count. But she was determined to see it through until the end, and promptly got to her feet, leaving Ruby to keep herself upright as the heiress headed for the kitchen.

She prepared coffee and tea for all of them, leaving Blake's black, adding two sugars into Yang's, and five into Ruby's along with some cream. Weiss added some cream into her own before she brought her teammates their respective mugs.

"Thanks, Weiss." Blake accepted Yang's cup as well before turning back to the blonde. "I can't believe you're already this far gone..." She muttered, urging her to drink.

"Like I said," Ruby spoke up. "Yang rarely ever made it to sunrise."

The brunette was still fairly hyperactive, even without the assistance of her coffee. Weiss longed to absorb some of her energy, trying to focus on the movie, the coffee, her blanket, anything but time.

At around 4AM, Blake announced she was going to shower, leaving Yang in her teammates' hands.

Weiss quite literally had to slap her awake once.

"_You're_ the one who suggested this inane idea." She snapped. "Don't you dare fade off first, and _especially_ not after we've made it this far."

Yang mumbled something back incoherently, but miraculously managed to keep her eyes open.

Once Blake emerged, she coaxed Yang into the shower next.

"I dunno... I'm pretty tired." Yang warned with a yawn. "I might not be able to stand alone in there. Are you gonna help-"

Blake abruptly slammed the door in her face, sighing heavily.

A few minutes later, Yang somehow managed to emerge from the bathroom unharmed, but sloppily dressed. Blake had to fix the straps of her disheveled tank top before having Yang sit down to dry her mane of hair, hoping the sound of the hair dryer would keep her awake, if nothing else.

Ruby showered soon afterward, followed by Weiss, and the heiress admitted she did feel more refreshed after that.

By the time they had all finished drying and combing through one another's hair, it was past 5 o'clock.

"How much longer?" Yang whined, slumping onto Blake's shoulder.

"About two more hours." Ruby gave her first yawn since their endeavor began.

"Yang's not going to make it at this rate." Weiss observed.

"We might have to go so far as letting her make puns." Blake suggested.

The others shuddered.

"Blake?" Yang hummed, a sleep-deprived, almost drunken smile on her lips as she reached up to pat her ears. "Did I ever tell you you're _purr_fec-"

"Can I just knock her out?"

"At this point, I'm willing to say yes." Weiss agreed.

"Wait, no!" Yang whined.

For the next hour, the four of them squabbled for the mere sake of talking, saying anything they had to just to prevent from falling over.

Once 6 o'clock had passed, the energy in the atmosphere was almost completely depleted. Ruby lay on the floor on her back with her head resting in Weiss's lap, her face turned to the side to look out the window. The heiress did her best to keep her posture from slouching forward as she gazed up to the sky, which was brightening ever so slowly.

"Yang?" Ruby called out. "You still awake?"

"Mmm..." Came the hoarse reply. "Just a cat nap-_oof_!"

The elbow strike to the gut indicated Blake was still conscious as well.

At last, Weiss gave in to the heaviness in her eyelids, but not a second later, Ruby's voice piped up. "Oh!"

Weiss had sunken forward, and in her haste to sit up, Ruby bashed foreheads with her, resulting in both of them yelping and rolling onto the floor.

"Owowow, sorry Weiss!"

"I don't know how much more of this I can take..." The heiress wheezed.

"Not much more!" Ruby declared proudly as she pushed herself up. "Look!" She pointed out the window to a pale splash of yellow peeking above the distant horizon.

"Oh, thank god." Yang fell onto her back.

"Wait!" Blake pulled her up again. "You still have to make a wish, remember?"

"And not only that." Weiss added once the pounding in her head had subsided. "Everyone get your coats on. We're going outside."

"Whaaat?" Yang wailed.

"I think that's a great idea." Blake nodded approvingly.

"Yeah!" Ruby jumped up. "The cold should keep us awake!"

The three of them slowly rose to their feet, and as Ruby helped Blake hoist Yang up, Weiss took the opportunity to dive under her bed and retrieve their gifts. She slipped them into the pocket of her trench coat as the others pulled on their boots and scarves.

"Come on," Ruby nudged her sister. "You're almost there!"

She soon left Yang in Blake's care as she hung back to wait for Weiss.

"Coming." The heiress rushed over, quickly slipping her hand into Ruby's.

The four of them limped down the silent hallways, the brighter lights waking them up a bit more. Ruby pushed the exit door open and Weiss helped her hold it for the other pair.

Once they had all emerged outside, none of them spoke.

The world was completely white, covered in snow just as it had been for the past few days. But there was something transcendental about the scenery now, the crystals of the ice reflecting somewhat purple from the gradually-fading darkness of the sky.

The stars were still visible, as was the waning crescent of the moon, which reflected silver off the snow, making for an ethereal glow around them.

It was still too early for the birds to start chirping, and aside from the quiet crunching of snow beneath boots and the occasional breath of air, the world was silent.

It was a few minutes later when the rattling of the naked tree branches in the wind started to echo about the surrounding forests as the world began to awaken. The orange sliver of the sunrise beyond started to reach out, bleeding into the pale purple ocean above, stretching its light into the patch of velvet.

The four girls stopped walking; even Yang had been given a new energy with which to admire the view.

The silence ensued for a few moments as the sun began to break forth from its shelter behind the faraway mountaintops.

Naturally, Ruby was the first to break the silence.

"Whoa..." She spoke hesitantly.

"You can say that again." Yang too, spoke in a lower voice, as though frightened that speaking too loudly might cause something to break.

"Is it time to make our wishes?" Blake asked.

"I think so." Her leader replied.

The four of them closed their eyes, bowing their heads in silence as they faced the sun that rose to shine upon the New Year.

Another moment passed before they all raised their heads.

"So..." Yang grinned. "What'd everyone wish for?"

"Do you think we're daft?" Weiss scoffed. "You're not allowed to tell or else it won't come true!"

"Oh, so you know about that, huh, Weiss?" Ruby was impressed.

"I never took you to be the superstitious type." Blake added.

"W-Well, it's worth a shot, isn't it?" Weiss flipped her long hair over her shoulder. "I guess I'll have to wait another year yet to see if it comes true."

She then turned back to look at all of her teammates, lowering her voice. "But until then, I want to give you all something." She reached into her pocket, the others leaning forward curiously.

First, Weiss pulled out the bracelets, holding them out to Blake and Yang. "These are for you two." She said, her breath billowing white. The two partners each extended a palm as Weiss carefully placed the trinkets down.

"Wow..." Blake was the first to find her words. "Weiss, this is beautiful. Did you make it yourself?"

"Yes. They're sprinkled with black Dust, which ensures they will never break or melt, no matter what."

"I gotta say, Weiss," Yang's lavender eyes were wide. "This is something definitely fit for a princess's making. It really is amazing..." She held the charm up to her face, watching as the snow, sun, stars, and moonlight all reflected off of the ice at different angles.

"I'm glad you like them." Weiss smiled.

She then directed her full attention to Ruby who stood beside her with a smile on her face all the while.

"And, Ruby..." Weiss pulled out the necklace and held it out toward her. "This is for you."

Ruby appeared almost dazed as she registered that Weiss was speaking to her, for she was so lost in the delicate detail of the charm.

"Wow..." Ruby held out her hand and carefully accepted the gift. "Oh, wow! Weiss... This is so lovely... A-And you made it yourself..."

Weiss's chest felt as though it was full of cotton, but rather than stifling, it was light and warm.

"I made sure yours matched." She addressed Blake and Yang before her proud mist-blue eyes met her girlfriend's again. "But Ruby... I wanted yours to be a necklace, because... I always want to be close to your heart."

Ruby felt the sting of tears, momentarily speechless as she immediately tied the necklace behind her head.

Then, she stepped forward and took Weiss tightly into her arms. "Dummy..." She whispered as two tears slipped down her cheeks. "Of _course_ you're always in my heart."

"And you're always in mine." Weiss rested her chin on Ruby's shoulder, catching a glimpse of the fiery sunrise behind her. The warmth in her chest spread throughout her body, and in that instance, she knew her wish for the oncoming year would come true.

Ruby managed to prevent any more tears from falling, letting Weiss go as Blake and Yang came up next to her.

"Thank you, Weiss." Blake hugged her softly. "I'll wear it always."

"Same for me!" Yang then pulled the heiress into a more vigorous embrace. "I'll never take it off!"

"Neither will I." Ruby took her partner back into her arms at last, and Weiss knew she was at home.

It was another minute before Weiss had quelled her emotions enough to stop the tears. Ruby let her go again as the heiress straightened up with a proud smile.

"And those charms, they're not just _any_ snowflake," she announced. "Those are the Schnee family crest. So you all officially belong to me now! You're never allowed to leave my side unless I consent to it, which isn't likely. I hope you've prepared yourselves for that."

Blake and Yang shared a look, smirking as they slipped the bracelets onto their wrists.

Ruby adjusted her necklace so that it was front and center. "I think we can handle it." She grinned.

Weiss smiled as she wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulders, kissing her warmly.

The lack of teasing comments from behind her told her that the other pair was connected in much the same manner, so Weiss focused solely on the girl before her.

Ruby pulled her in by the waist, kissing back with a gentle passion.

At last, the sun rose above the horizon high enough to send out its golden beams of life, splashing color onto the white canvas of winter. The four girls pulled apart, taking one last moment to admire the scenery. The younger two murmured in turn:

"I love you, Ruby."

"I love you more, Weiss."

Then, they turned to where Blake and Yang waited at the door, the blonde declaring how eager she was to return to the room to sleep.

They all chuckled a little as they headed back inside, their hearts filled with fond memories of the past year, and welcoming all of the moments to come.

* * *

**A/N: Sappy New Year to all! Here's to a productive, RWBY-filled 2014! Anyone else staying up till sunrise with me?**

**Please review!**


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